Tag: Sufjan Stevens

When I first heard Sufjan Stevens had formed a super group along with Son Lux and Serengeti, I was intrigued. And then I heard “Rhythm Of Devotion,” and I was blown away. I quickly snagged me a limited edition copy of the group’s impending self-titled debut Sisyphus before it sold out (SCORE!), and then told everyone and their mother about it. Seriously, I think people at work started wondering if I was having problems at home I talked about it so much. One half rap, other half gentle Sufjan pop, the album is pure fun, and lucky for us it is currently streamable in it’s entirety over at The Guardian. Need more convincing? Check out “Rhythm Of Devotion” below, and then click the link!

While you will have to wait until October 12 to get your hands on a physical copy of Sufjan Stevens’ new album The Age of Adz(Asthmatic Kitty), you can hear all eleven tracks right now over at NPR. The new release marks a fairly significant departure from his 2005 breakthrough album Illinois; orchestral folk-pop is replaced with hip hop beats and tightly blended electronic sounds and textures. Despite all of the changes, Sufjan’s knack for epic storytelling still shines through. The Age of Adz might be a difficult pill for some fans to swallow, but it sure has been growing on me. What do you make of Sufjan’s new direction?

I’m really feeling all of this new Sufjan music we’ve been getting over the past month. Maybe he’s apologizing for falling off the face of the earth for 5 years (this is his first full album since 2005)? If that is the case, apology accepted you funky bastard you…

Stevens is without question taking his music in a new direction (and he’s got his drum machine with him). This new track reeks of Radiohead. Listen and Download below.

In celebration of the new Sufjan Stevens EP, Album, and Tour, I am posting my favorite Sufjan song… and its one you fans may not know.

A few years ago NPR challenged Stevens to write a song about a random US city of their choosing, in hopes of learning about his writing process (if you don’t know his music, he writes really quirky people specific songs). He accepted the challenge, and the station chose Brinkley, Arkansas (home to the ivory billed woodpecker a.k.a The Lord God Bird).

When it rains, it pours. Having just announced the release of his first full-length in five years, Sufjan is now offering a free song from the new album. The electro-beat/dub infused “I Walked” is the fourth track off of the upcoming The Age of Adz(out October 12 via Asthmatic Kitty). You can stream the track below and download it over at Sufjan’s site.

Well so much for that New York album I was hoping for. On the heels of the All Delighted People EP, Sufjan announces his first full-length album since 2005’s Illinois. The Age of Adz (pronounced “odds”) will be released October 12 on Asthmatic Kitty. Pre-order the new album here and catch the tracklist below.

The Age of Adz:

1. Futile Devices
2. Too Much
3. Age of Adz
4. I Walked
5. Now That I’m Older
6. Get Real Get Right
7. Bad Communication
8. Vesuvius
9. All for Myself
10. I Want To Be Well
11. Impossible Soul

Having lived in relative obscurity the past few years, it appears that Sufjan Stevens is finally back. On the heals of announcing a fairly extensive North American tour, Sufjan now brings us the All Delighted People EP. According to his website:

All Delighted People is built around two different versions of Sufjan’s long-form epic ballad “All Delighted People,” a dramatic homage to the Apocalypse, existential ennui, and Paul Simon’s “Sounds of Silence.” The song was originally workshopped on Sufjan’s previous tour in the fall of 2009. Other songs on the EP include the 17-minute guitar jam-for-single-mothers “Djohariah,” and the gothic piano ballad “The Owl and the Tanager,” a live-show mainstay.

Sounds heavy. Stream the new tracks below and download the EP here for a mere $5.